The dangers of texting behind the wheel cannot be overemphasized. Statistics show that texting while driving is responsible for nearly one-quarter of all car accidents in America, leading to 330,000 injuries per year and 11 teen deaths every day.
To help combat these staggering figures, AT&T launched the “It Can Wait” campaign in 2010. To kick off the campaign, they introduced a free DriveMode app for Blackberry and Android phones that senses when a car is moving 25 mph then disables all calls, texts and email notifications to eliminate distractions for drivers. AT&T also created an online simulator so the public could experience the dangers of texting while driving.
On September 19, 2014, AT&T marked their third annual “No Text on Board Pledge Day,” which encourages drivers across the nation to pledge to never text and drive.
The newest addition to the “It Can Wait” campaign is “#X,” a shorthand texting symbol that drivers can send to let people know that they are about to get behind the wheel. AT&T hopes that “#X” will give drivers a socially acceptable way to pause their texting conversations until they have arrived safely at their destinations.
“The sad thing is [that] sometimes the first experience people have with texting and driving is when they end up in a hospital — or someone they know or love ends up in a hospital — either dead or seriously injured,” ER physician Dr. Travis Stork says. “So, we urge you: Take that cell phone when you’re in the car, put it out of reach, and do not touch it until you stop and can pay attention to what you’re doing.”
To learn more about AT&T's "It Can Wait" campaign and how to use "#X," visit www.itcanwait.com.
